any determination on exactly what happens here. we were able to get melissa bailcy at the new haven independent was able to find his former girlfriend on facebook. and was able to get some information that way. and she said that that whole -- that realizing what he had been accused of made her feel like the vent was right back -- 16 all over again, very distressed and -- >> she was distressed about the annie le situation? >> yes and distressed this brought back her own memories of her own situation with him. she said, it's been a rough few days. >> let's take a quick break. we'll have much more on that coming up with dr. clay watson on that front. we're seeing now some history here and we'll take your calls on this. 1-8 7-tell hln is the number. i'll get your calls when we come

back.

singer chris brown has been ordered to do community service for the beating up of his girlfriend rihanna. here is our weekly features what matter. >> the bigger problem is african-american women in domestic violent relationships. why is it so prevalent? randy went looking for answers. >> reporter: this woman lived a nightmare for six long years. day in and day out she was abused by her husband. emotionally, physically and sexually. >> he would want to have sex and i would say no and then i would have to -- i would say fight for my life to try and keep him from

raping me. >> reporter: like so many women she stayed in the relationship. she had four children and wanted to keep her family together. >> how bad did it get. >> he took a crow bar and broke into the house and i was asleep. when i woke up he was standing at the door with the crow bar and he said i should hit you with this. >> reporter: she never reported her husband's abuse and he was never arrested or charged, which is why we're not identifying her. >> help me understand why you didn't go to the police. >> reporter: for an african-american woman to call the police on an african-american man it would be like sending another brother to jail to prison and not believing they would get the right treatment from the police. >> reporter: that statement might sound bizarre to some, but it's not uncommon in the african-american community. and experts say it makes a bad problem worse. just how prevalent is domestic violence among african-american

women, a study by the department of justice from 2001 to 2005 found domestic abuse among black women 25% higher than white women. in fact, it was higher than women of all other races except native american. >> reporter: ruth slaughter worked with survivors of domestic violence for more than 30 years, mainly in the african-american community. women stay in abusive relationships she says because they are in denial. >> he's going to get better. it's only this one time. and when he apologizes and says he's sorry, you hope this will be the last time. and you believe him. >> they are supposed to be these strong, women able to bear anything. that's one of reasons that we adore the abuse more -- reported abuse more than others. because we're trying to protect ourselves and trying to protect

the african-american community. >> reporter: in the celebrity case of chris brown and his girlfriend rihanna, police say brown shoved her head against the passenger window and continued to punch her in the face, even threatened to kill her. brown pleaded guilty. and publicly apoll gitzed in this video posted on youtube. >> i told rihanna countless times, i'm truly truly sorry. >> sentenced to probation and community service for doing this to a women, this victim says it sends the wrong message. >> the whole problem with domestic abuse is a lack of accountability. that's not enough accountability and responsibility for him. i think the message needs to be a little stronger. >> this woman eventually got the message. she divorced her abuser. today she counsels other women who are in abusive relationships trying to stop the violence, trying to end the denial. randi kaye, cnn, los angeles.

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